'Traveling Lab' could lead to book deal

Adog's life is thought to be full of leisure- eating, digging in the yard and spending time near fire hydrants.

DOWN ON THE FARM Kathy Croce of Newton, IA, posed Pups with a horse named Sweet Pea while in rural Kellogg, IA. Croce was visiting a friend who has a farm there. (Photo by Kathy Croce) In the case of "Pups the Traveling Labrador," life can also be full of adventure and exotic travels.

Paula and Gregg Kidney of Lambertville and Houghton Lake may have hit on something that could bring a book deal their way. They are working on writing a series about the travels of their stuffed Labrador, "Pups," which they purchased at Mountain Man Nut and Fruit Company, Houghton Lake, a few years ago.

"He's so adorable- look at him," Paula Kidney said, adding that it was her idea that "he should travel the world."

Paula, a paralegal at a law firm, said Pups' travels began three years ago as a fun thing to do with people she knew on a lowcarb support forum on the Internet.

Then his popularity grew.

"It's unbelievable how it took off," she said. "People get really into it."

PUPS THE TRAVELING LABRADOR Paula and Gregg Kidney, Lambertville and Houghton Lake, are hoping Pups, a stuffed black Lab, will take them into the publishing world. Paula Kidney said Pups, which she bought at Mountain Man Nut and Fruit Company, Houghton Lake, has already traveled the world for three years and has become so popular there is a waiting list for people to take him to different destinations. His first manuscript is about a trip he took to Canada. (CHP) Paula said people are on a waiting list to take Pups with them.

"People want to show you their lives," Gregg Kidney, a retired Ford engineer who is now is sales for Robinson Industries, said. "Where they live and what their lives are like."

The dog (who was named after Pups, a black Lab owned by Paula Kidney's brother, Howard Straight of Wayne) has been in a wedding party, at a Wisconsin cheese factory, to a Boston Red Sox game, on a cruise and on a Florida radio show.

"People dress him up," Paula said. "People get so excited about him."

PUPS' VISIT TO IRELAND Celeste Short of New London, CT, shows Pups the Traveling Labrador the sites of Ireland. Short said she had waited to take Pups for about six months. Pups arrives in a box with all of his clothes, she said. Each host typically keeps the stuffed lab for one week before sending him on to the next host. (Photo by Celeste Short) A Pups host usually has the dog for about one week, and then ships him to the next person on the schedule at his or her own expense.

Celeste Short of New London, CT, has been one of Pups' hosts. She explained that Pups arrives in a box with all sorts of clothes, from Hawaiian shirts to sports jerseys.

"I mean it's hilarious," she said.

As a host, Short took Pups to Ireland.

"What is amazing to me is that it continues," she said. "You'd think we were all 12 years old!"

Short said most of Pups' hosts are from the low-carb support group and have known each other for years.

Sandi Hankins of Lufkin, TX, who took Pups on a Carnival cruise last month, said a lot of people asked her and her family about why they were taking pictures of Pups. She explained that "I'm strange and he's Pups the Traveling Labrador! It's a lot of fun."

ON THE RADIO Denise Parker of Valrico, FL (right), took Pups to a radio interview in Tampa about two years ago. Parker introduced the stuffed labrador to Jon Patch, host of "Talkin' Pets," and dog trainer Karen Vance, and explained how Pups travels the world with different hosts. (Photo by Jim Parker) Pups' next destination is London. Then he's on to Tennessee.

Those who take Pups with them post their pictures and comments on the low-carb site, and then Paula Kidney posts some of those onto Pups' MySpace.com web page.

"Some people may think it's dumb," Paula said, "but I think it's a hit in the making."

She said people typically pose with Pups at popular places in their home state. He's also been to Germany, Japan, Jamaica, Switzerland and many other locations.

"That dog's been to places I'd like to be," Gregg Kidney said.

While Pups has gotten wet and had to be dried out a few times, his hosts do take care of him.

"People realize they need to hang on to him in order for this to work," he said.

There was the time, however, when Pups was held for ransom. Paula Kidney said that threat turned out to be a joke. Pups did come up missing, she said, and she had to purchase a new one, the last one Mountain Man carried.

"Unfortunatley, they were discontinued," Mountain Man coowner Diane Jones said.

Paula Kidney said the manufacturer of the dog, Big Sky Carvers, LLC, Montana, has indicated it may start producing the dog again if the book takes off.

In pursuing publishing information, Paula searched for a ghostwriter on the Internet and discovered Laine Cunningham of North Carolina. Cunningham has edited several books that have been purchased by publishers, such as mysteries, how-tos, thrillers and children's books.

Winner of the 2005 Hackney Literary Award, and a 2003 James Jones Literary Society Fellow, Cunningham said she knew she wanted to work on the Kidneys' project "the minute they explained it to me."

Cunningham is working on a proposal for publishers and hopes to spread Pups' popularity by initiating a series of adult, and possibly children's, books.

"Why it works so well- the entire concept is very sweet," she said.

The stories provide a glimpse of world-wide locations as well as the hosts' experiences of traveling around with a stuffed dog," Cunningham said.

"They're totally in it for the fun," she said of the hosts who take Pups places.

And the idea for the book came three years after Pups began his adventures.

"The concept of a book was not even in their minds," she said, "until people starting talking about it."

If the book does well in a test market, Cunninghan said, the number of books published could expand to "as many as readers want."

She said the stories would likely be in a pocketbook format.

"I absolutely believe in the story. It's really what people are looking for these days," Cunningham said, adding the idea is in the vein of the book, "Marley and Me." "It has that wonderful, light-heartedness that dogs bring."

Pups' web page is www.MySpace.com/pinkyandpups.

"I never imagined a book in the beginning," Paula Kidney said, "but then so many people suggested that he should write a book of his stories and travels."

Cunningham said the market is open to stories like this right now, adding, "I certainly have my fingers crossed for her."